By Scott Harvey
Commerce – The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents last Thursday unanimously selected Morris Foster, of Houston, as its chairman and James P. Wilson, of Sugar Land, as vice chairman.
Foster and Wilson both were appointed to the board by Gov. Rick Perry in 2007, and will serve two-year terms as chairman and vice chairman. They replace Bill Jones of Austin and John White of Houston, respectively.
Foster is a former president of ExxonMobil Production Company in Houston, and now serves as the chairman of Stagecoach/Millcreek Resort.
Wilson serves as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of JK Acquisition Corporation, a Houston-based publicly traded investment firm and is a founder and managing partner of RSTW Partners, a private debt and equity firm he co-founded in 1990.
The A&M System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $3.04 billion. Through a statewide network of nine universities, seven state agencies and a comprehensive health science center, the A&M System educates more than 109,000 students and makes more than 15 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. Externally funded research brings in almost $676 million every year and helps drive the state's economy.
In 1996, East Texas State University became a member of the A&M System becoming Texas A&M University-Commerce.